ShinMaywa delivered the first of its second-generation US-1A amphibian search-and-rescue aircraft to the Japan Defense Agency for flight testing. Powered by four Rolls-Royce AE 2100 turboprops, the aircraft is expected to be certified and enter service in 2007. A second test article is set to be delivered this year. The US-1A also uses a CTS800-4K engine to drive the boundary layer control system for its short-takeoff-and-landing capability. The CTS800 is produced by LHTEC, a joint venture of Rolls-Royce and Honeywell.
Recent orders from Nippon Cargo Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways have given a boost to the Boeing Co.'s 747-400 production and Special Freighter programs.
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has ordered 10 electric companies to begin marking more than 300,000 high-tension powerlines for high visibility in any weather condition. A fatal crash on Mar. 7 of an AS-355F helo was attributed to the crew's inability to see the powerlines. Although there is a mandate for warning lights on buildings, towers and cables higher than 200 ft., most transmission lines have not been marked.
Taiwan is poised to buy UHF long-range early warning radars from the U.S. under a deal that could reach $1.8 billion. The two radars would be part of the Surveillance Radar Program and include equipment to tie the sensors into Taiwan's command and control facilities.
Deeply unhappy with what it considers an unfair charging regime at Heathrow, U.K. carrier British Midland is continuing to push the national airport authority for some form of recompense. The airline remains at odds with the British Airports Authority's (BAA) approach to raising funds for the Terminal 5 development through increased landing charges, introduced last year. The facility, which is expected to open in 2008, will be used exclusively by British Airways and its alliance partners.
Southwest flight attendants' job protests at Philadelphia may prove the airline's culture of love is not a many-splendored thing. The 7,300 cabin crewmembers who fly for the low-cost-carrier model have been engaged in what they call "protracted and contentious" negotiations for a new contract for nearly two years. The Transit Workers Union Local 556, which represents the attendants, thought the "City of Brotherly Love" a logical choice to draw attention to their plight. Southwest Airlines is preparing to introduce extensive service in the market on May 9.
An agreement between DHL and Lufthansa Cargo offers improvements to package and cargo services between Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. Lufthansa MD-11 freighters launched the global network on Mar. 28 that enables next-day delivery on westbound flights to the larger business centers, improves transit times and offers better service between Europe and Asia.
Harrison H. Schmitt's visionary proposal (AW&ST Mar. 15, p. 70) regarding a "private" path for a return to the Moon should be seriously considered by the investment community and aerospace industry alike. Schmitt has pointed the way for humankind to follow in his lunar footsteps, while fueling the future here on Earth.
The French government is again nervously eyeing equity capital movements in Eutelsat, fearing that they could lead to the loss of European control. The foreign ministry said last week it is observing these movements "attentively," echoing comments during an ultimately unsuccessful attempt by U.S. satellite operators, including Intelsat, to take control of Eutelsat early last year.
Air Canada's largest union, the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), last week agreed to adopt the defined contribution pension plan proposed by Trinity Time Investments, a 31% stakeholder in the carrier. Trinity's $650-million stake is contingent on adoption of its pension plan.
Mark McGraw has been appointed director of naval weapons programs for St. Louis-based Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. He was deputy manager for Boeing's Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft program.
Ramesh Punwani has been appointed chief financial officer of the FAA. He was senior vice president-global strategy for the Cendant Corp. and had been executive vice president/CFO of Travelocity.com.
I agree with Roger L. Frasca and would like Michael Blake and Col. Michael Cantor to address why the S-92 Helibus and modernized UH-1 and AH-1 were planned and flight-tested in shorter time than the whole Comanche concept (AW&ST Mar. 15, p. 6; Feb. 23. p. 7). Granted, technology and the availability of airframes are the driving forces, but the restructuring of the program five or six times--and the transmission and rotor changes to allow the aircraft to carry more ordnance than designed--surely had the word "axe" hovering nearby.
Some potential candidates to be defense secretary in a John Kerry administration are already waving off the opportunity. "Think of the nightmare any secretary is going to have," says a likely contender who has spent decades in Washington, inside and outside the Pentagon. "We are looking at a defense budget this year that is almost the same as Ronald Reagan had in 1985 in real purchasing power. But look at how much less we get with the same budget.
John Edwards, an analyst with Connecticut-based Forecast International, predicts a worldwide market for about 170 new commercial and civil remote-sensing satellites worth $15.5 billion over the next 10 years. Most of that money--roughly $14.1 billion--will go for low-Earth orbit (LEO) spacecraft, although Edwards sees a market for about 10 geostationary spacecraft as well. Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. of the U.K.
Seldom, if ever, have air cargo operators had such a broad choice of aircraft for their growing types of missions in this $46-billion-a-year international business. The global cargo fleet is forecast to increase by nearly 3,000 new and converted freighters through 2022, according to Boeing and Airbus. Half of the added freighters are expected to be wide-body aircraft. The fleet will show an unprecedented mix of small and jumbo jets, with a high percentage of passenger-to-freighter conversions.
Boeing's evolutionary 777-300ER, sporting a combination of a larger cabin and longer range, is scheduled to enter service with Air France within the next several months.
The Boeing Co., in this artist's concept, offers a preview of its 747-400 Special Freighter, the company's 10th passenger-to-cargo aircraft conversion program. Cathay Pacific Airways is the launch customer, with a plan to convert at least six aircraft. The 747-400SFs are among a variety of aircraft becoming available to reequip the global cargo fleet (see p. 54).
Harold W. Moulton, 2nd, is among the U.S. Air Force colonels who have been nominated to become brigadier generals. He is vice director of operations of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson AFB, Colo. Others are: Joseph F. Mudd, Jr., commander of the 36th Air Base Wing, Pacific Air Forces, Andersen AFB, Guam; Mark H. Owen, commander of the 91st Space Wing of the Air Force Strategic Command, Minot AFB, N.D.; Ellen M.
Egypt's Luxor Air is no longer authorized to operate to France. During a night approach to Nantes, an MD-83 carrying 104 passengers and 10 crew deviated from the nominal flight path and overflew the city center at less than 600 ft.
Boeing says more than 60% of its systems awards for the 7E7 are complete now that it has named FR-HiTemp, a subsidiary of the U.K.-based Cobham Group, to provide fuel pumps and valves. The deal marks the appointment of another European supplier for the 7E7.
NASA's recent flight of the X-43A supersonic combustion ramjet demonstrator gives engineers more confidence in their design tools, but it remains to be seen whether scramjets can jump many practical hurdles to become a competitor to rocket engines in the Mach 5-15 speed range.
Northrop Grumman has pulled in a $202-million contract modification for Lot 3 low-rate production of four Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles. The work is to be completed by October 2005. Northrop Grumman also has been awarded $50.6 million for long-lead, Lot 4 procurement of four RQ-4B Global Hawks.
As a stress engineer with 18 years' experience in the design of performance aircraft, I read Greg Waugh's unabashed slap at the Joint Strike Fighter stress community with a certain degree of interest. While I have no idea what role Waugh played during his six months on the program, I suspect a few overdesigned fuel line support clips would not warrant his wholesale condemnation. Several assertions seem a bit uninformed. To state that "there were no lessons learned from the F-16 or F/A-22" is ridiculous, even to the casual observer.
